Oil and gas wells are stimulated and re-stimulated in various ways to increase production of a flow of hydrocarbons from a completed well. With a newly completed well with a large reservoir and easily captured hydrocarbons, for example, the well may not require much or any stimulation techniques to produce an adequate flow of hydrocarbons from the well. Other wells, depending on composition or otherwise, may require more well stimulation to release the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation containing the hydrocarbons.
In recent years, hydraulic fracturing has become a widely-used well stimulation technique to increase well production and access previously uncaptured hydrocarbons. Hydraulic fracturing involves hydraulically fracturing the subterranean formation with a pressurized liquid or fracturing liquid, containing water, proppant (e.g., sand or man-made alternative), and/or chemicals, that is injected into a wellbore. Upon pressurizing the wellbore with the fracturing liquid, the formation fractures or cracks and the fracturing liquid can leave behind proppant, propping open the formation which allows the hydrocarbons to flow more freely through the fractures and into the wellbore to be recovered. In some instances, an artificial lift system may pump hydrocarbons from the reservoir to overcome the hydrostatic head pressure of the hydrocarbons, or the hydrocarbons may flow freely up the wellbore without assistance.